Share this article

Napoleon was determined to learn the language of his captors and underwent daily lessons with his aide, Emmanuel, the Comte de las Cases, so he could understand what was being said around him.

The emperor was an enthusiastic student and often wrote to his teacher in English when he couldn't sleep to practice.

But this letter shows the emperor was a long way off mastering the language - and it is said his spoken English was even worse.

Broken English: In the rare letter, Napoleon reveals his difficulty in mastering the language

The emperor continues: 'He shall land above seven
day, a ship from Europe that we shall give account from anything who
this shall have been even to day of first January thousand eight hundred
sixteen.

"You shall have for this ocurens a
letter from Lady Las Case that shall you learn what himself could carry
well if she had conceive the your occurens. But I tire myself and you
shall have of the ado at conceive my."

The auction will take place in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, on Sunday.

Collectable: The rare letter by Napoleon, played here by Vladislav
Strzhelchik in the 1969 film War and Peace, is expected to fetch up to
£65,000 at auction